At the invitation of Prime Minister John Mejxher, the President of the Republic, Sali Berisha, will make an official working visit to Great Britain from 27–30 March 1994. This visit, the first by an Albanian head of state to Great Britain, aims to strengthen friendly relations and further develop active cooperation between our two countries. During this visit, President Berisha will be granted a private audience by Her Majesty Queen Elisabet, will be received by and hold talks with Prime Minister Mejxher, as well as with the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Mr Daglas Herd. He will also meet prominent figures from political and business life. President Berisha will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Bashkim Kopliku, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Arjan Starova, and others. Several bilateral agreements will also be signed during this visit. PRESS AND INFORMATION OFFICE AT THE PRESIDENCY

- An “easy” job for the prosecutors - Nano will surely make another ridiculous statement “for those who want to listen” - “ZP,” on the same page where it defends E. Hoxha, also defends Nano The Nano case Today at 12:00, at the Tirana Court, prosecutors A.Qeleshi and G.Gjokutaj will present their sentencing submissions in the case that has been postponed for more than 10 sessions: the theft of Italian aid for Albania. It can be said that, despite the difficulties so far, the complications and the obstacles deliberately caused by Nano and his lawyers, preparing the prosecution’s submissions should be considered an easy process. The 51 witnesses, documentary evidence, expert reports, as well as the defendants’ statements, can be said to have made the final act of accusation much simpler. What sentence will the prosecution seek for the guilty F. Nano? The articles under which he is accused of having committed criminal offences set a minimum of 7 years’ imprisonment, although when Nano’s regime was in power in Albania, people were sentenced to death under those articles and for less serious crimes. Colleague Rakipi assured Nano that in a democratic state there would be no sentences like those imposed in Nano’s time, and Nano should be glad of that. In connection with this, I would like to add something not only about the sentence Nano will receive (because he is guilty), but also about the treatment he has received so far. Of course, even the idea of making such comparisons is unacceptable, since they do not hold up. Nano’s crime is evident. Its consequences have been suffered not only by the “Democrats” but by all Albanians, including many of those who today are ranked within the PS; that is why many of them have distanced themselves from Nano’s corrupt figure. But Nano’s “friends” refuse to stop defending the criminal and the crime. “ZP,” on the same page where it defends E. Hoxha, also defends Nano, and it defends Nano just as much as E. Hoxha can be defended with arguments. Thus, to defend Nano, it publishes the words of his accomplice, Perniola, who “sincerely” replies that he “did not pay bribes.” Is there a more convincing argument that Nano is innocent than the defendant Perniola’s declaration that he did not pay bribes? Nevertheless, “ZP” does not give Perniola’s full statement either, but publishes only a partial interview with him. Why? As for the testimony of G.Poqaca and A.Collaku, I do not know what motivates “ZP” to publish it, but in any case it is doing very well, since the facts there are clearer, even if “ZP” may not be publishing them for the facts but for phrases such as “the government’s commitment” or “the honesty with which we worked.” It is not the first time that “ZP” has published facts that discredit the PS and Nano. I do not believe there is any “dissident” within its ranks, so this can be explained either by the less-than-satisfactory intellectual level of those who lead it and publish such things, or by the fact that the discrediting facts are so numerous that they are difficult to avoid. In conclusion, today we will hear the prosecutors’ sentencing submissions and, with certainty, one of Nano’s ridiculous statements, which he really makes only for those who “want to hear him”—in other words, for those who, despite being convinced by the evidence of his crime, continue to defend him. Nano should be sure that the only people who still listen to his speeches are precisely the latter. They are the ones whose eyes have been blinded by the blood of Hoxha’s crimes, but that does not stop them from continuing to defend him. These are the people who continue to defend Nano and his crime. EDI PALOKA ...Siga and Nano? To strengthen democracy? There will be no sentences like in Nano’s time, and Nano should be glad about that. In connection with this, he says that he would add something—not merely Certainly, it is not acceptable even as an idea to compare the two periods, Nano’s and the present one, but Nano himself, with his truthfulness, compels us to do so. Nano says that he is being subjected to a political trial, that he is being treated badly and that his rights are being violated. It would be good for Nano to open the film archives and remember what a political trial means—the trials conducted by his party—and then he would surely be delighted that it did not occur to anyone to subject him to a political trial too, but that he is being sentenced as an ordinary thief. And as for all the crimes committed by his regime (let us not forget the killings at the border in ’91, when Nano was prime minister), the matter concerns the latest crime that Nano and Alia committed against Nano and his crime. 51 ARE SWEATING MR. NANO FOR THE ALBANIAN PEOPLE.

- 200 people have joined the PD, 40 of them intellectuals, in just these past few months - Not a single question, not a single inquiry about Fatos Nano Meetings of Mr Eduard Selami and Messrs Agron Musaraj, Rexhep Uka, Edmond Spaho, and MP Leka Toto in Delvine In the municipality of Vergoi... On Wednesday, 23.3.1994, hundreds of residents of Rrezoma in Delvine, the most remote mountainous area of the district, had gathered in the municipality of Vergoi to meet and talk with the highest representatives of the PDSH and the Democratic Government, who had come among them. The meeting was opened by the municipal secretary, who, amid enthusiastic applause and shouts of “freedom-democracy,” gave the floor to Mr Eduard Selami. Among other things, Mr Selami said: “Today it is easier to talk with you than it was three years ago, because you know us better now, you assess our work and achievements every day, and you see more clearly our concern and seriousness in seeing things through to the end, just as we promised you. You gave the PD broad support from its very beginnings. Not only today, but throughout history, your region has been distinguished by its strong patriotic feelings and genuine Albanian identity. The defence of national interests... We consider your requests for paving the road, ensuring drinking and irrigation water, improving the communications system, etc., justified and entirely achievable. But naturally, things cannot be done all at once, as if at the flick of a switch; they also have to happen gradually.” Mr Rexhep Uka, taking the floor in this warm discussion, said that the Democratic Government had devoted its work to the good and prosperity of Albania. “...which is part of the Labëria region; recently we have received confirmation of a development project from Switzerland, whose central idea is development similar to that of this mountainous country. The district of Delvine is also included in these projects, and your mountain villages are part of it,” Mr Rexhep Uka went on to say. The Minister of Tourism, Edmond Spaho, emphasized the idea that areas which are mountainous in terms of their terrain but Mediterranean in terms of their climate have exceptionally favourable conditions for developing agrotourism. In addition, as a result of the priority development of the coastal tourist area, employment opportunities will be created for your sons and daughters as well. Taking the floor, Minister Musaraj highlighted the good work done to strengthen the law-enforcement bodies and at the same time asked those present for their opinions, suggestions and observations on how their work could be further improved. Farmers and representatives of local government in the municipality of Vergoi and the other villages of Rrezoma in Delvine pointed out the significant improvements made over these two years, expressed their support for...

Nano and his crime. EDI PALOKA ... the facts are very clear, even if “ZP” may not publish them for the facts ... but ... true ... with ... for ... the ... But naturally things cannot be done ... prosperity of Albania. The concerns raised by the local government are justified. Establishing it for the first time in Albania constitutes the strongest decentralization ever undertaken in Albania. You yourselves elected this local government with your vote, and therefore you should demand that it deserves your confidence. In a democracy, the first link where problems and concerns are dealt with is local government. Emphasizing the Democratic Government’s efforts to develop different areas of the country, Mr Uka informed the mountain people of Rrëzoma in Delvine, ... ... to achieve. But naturally things cannot be done immediately, have to happen gradually. ... with ... that ... for ... their opinions, suggestions and observations about the further course of their work. The Vergoi and the other villages of Rrëzoma two years, expressed their support for the democratic processes and presented the concerns mentioned above, which were met with understanding by Mr Selami and the other gentlemen accompanying him. And in the town of Delvine Even before entering the hall where the meeting was to be held, the shouts “Freedom, democracy” and “Long live Sali Berisha” rang out powerfully from hundreds of citizens of Delvine, who showed extraordinary interest. (Continued on page 2)

For some time now the grey-haired political archaeologist (for it must be said that grey hair does not always signify nobility, as Mr Ceka thinks) has been giving lessons on “democracy” and on what the Albanian state today should be like, so that at last it can take its place with dignity alongside Europe’s civilizations that have not disappeared. Reading these lessons carefully, which lately have been appearing in abundance in various newspapers, one cannot fail to notice their provincial shallowness and, more importantly, not only their shallowness but also his dissatisfaction with what is happening in Albania today. In his latest lesson, extremely long-winded and filled with dilettantish reasoning, pedantic even for a provincial teacher who has in his library a few works by Enver and Ramiz Alia’s book “Our Enver,” this tired professor, disappointed that his dreams have not been fulfilled, tries to convince us that today’s Albanian state is merely a superficially modified version of yesterday’s dictatorial state, and that today’s democracy, which he calls “democracy of the transition,” is nothing other than a modified copy of yesterday’s totalitarianism. And what is the source of this calamity that has befallen us collectively, according to yesterday’s professor?! First, the PD’s landslide in the 22 March elections, according to this professor-president of a small party, ... thus astonishing even the most hardened conservatives with his audacity. Because he cannot quite say it: for Neritan Ceka, the PD should not have won the 22 March elections; that day was a disaster for him, and precisely for this reason he does not spare himself in painting the Albanian reality after 22 March, when the democratic forces came to power, in the darkest colours. But here one cannot avoid a question: if the PD’s landslide victory in the 22 March elections is a disaster, who should have won, in your view, so that we could escape this gloomy reality which you explain to us in such detail? Ramiz Alia, the socialists? Because in reality, in that election campaign which you boycotted, there were two main fronts facing each other: the communists, with Ramiz Alia, on one side, and the PD and all the democratic forces on the other, seeking once and for all to change Albania’s destiny, to finally close that dark chapter of dictatorial rule and turn on the green light of long-awaited freedom. Since you openly express your dissatisfaction with the sweeping victory of the democratic coalition, there can be no doubt: you wanted another victory for the PPSH, which had been nominally transformed into the PS, and you were on Ramiz Alia’s side, your idol, before whom you did not hesitate to fall to your knees and prostrate yourself, at a time when Albania needed more than ever to get out of the mire into which Bolshevik dictatorship and barbaric Enverism had plunged it. In this context, your lessons filled with resentment and hatred toward the PD, today’s democratic Albanian state and the President of the Republic are understandable. You cannot be otherwise; you cannot think otherwise when you see yourself and your friends as defeated, when Ramiz Alia is under arrest and will be brought to justice, when Fatos Nano is answering before the court for the abuses committed at the expense of the Albanian people, when the red caste failed to seize all the national wealth as Ramiz Alia had foreseen, so that they could be capitalists and wealthy people forever, as well as rulers forever, while the Albanian people continued to work for them, as they had for the preceding fifty years. A revival of the old times with you and your close friends at the helm: that is the message of your lessons, which you mistakenly title “Democracy of the Transition.” It would be more interesting if they were titled “Letters from the Underworld to Friends and Emaciated Oppressors,” whose ... contents you, as a political archaeologist, know well—contents which the Albanians have clearly understood and firmly decided never to allow again. LAZER STANI

- E. Hoxha holds the title Hero of the People and receives a pension for it?! - How long will he enjoy it? - The victims of the dictatorship are not seeking political trials, but trials against crime. Statement in Parliament by MP Uran Butka on 24 March 1994 It has become entirely clear and necessary that the bloody Enverist dictatorship must be denounced and legally condemned, not only for the monstrous crime it perpetrated against Albania and the Albanian nation, but also for the fallacies its offspring put forward about democracy, in order to manipulate it and sterilize and purify the womb that gave birth to the communist system. - I therefore address Parliament, asking it to deal with the issues that fall exclusively within its remit and to exert its influence in resolving certain problems raised by our time, which necessarily require solutions. 1. The Enverist communist dictatorship must be legally condemned. 2. Such criminal and anti-national figures as Enver Hoxha, together with all the principal leaders responsible for grave crimes against the Albanian people, must be brought to justice. 3. The title “Hero of the People” and the privileges deriving from it must be removed from them by Parliament as soon as possible. It is regrettable that the executioner Enver Hoxha still bears this title and that Nexhmije Hoxha still receives a hero’s pension. It is likewise a paradox that Shefqet Peçi, known for the mass and indiscriminate massacres in Gjirokaster, in Libohove, in Mirditë, in Kukës and as far as Kosovo, still holds the title “Hero of the People” and is even seeking through the courts an extra room as a people’s hero. 4. Although our Parliament abolished the statute of limitations for crimes, not a single judicial proceeding has been held for crimes committed over 50 years, crimes reported to the prosecutor’s office by the victims, their family members, associations, and others. Surely people such as Ramiz Alia, Aranit Çela, Manush Myftiu, and former interior ministers and prime ministers, among others, who ordered and carried out the destruction of the archives of the Republic of Albania, must be brought before justice as criminals. Ramiz Alia is responsible not only for complicity with Enver Hoxha, but also for the period when he ruled personally: for the violence inflicted on the pioneers of democracy; for the border killings that he himself ordered; for the order to fire on refugees; for the imprisonment, beatings and confinement in psychiatric institutions of demonstrators and those who toppled statues of dictators; for the massacre of 2 April; and finally for the order to hang Havzi Nela, the 74-year-old torchbearer of democracy, who was accused of escaping from internment supposedly in order to kill Ramiz Alia and who said in his final words before being hanged: “It never even crossed my mind to harm Ramiz Alia.” The democratic countries of the world have condemned and continue to condemn Nazi-fascist criminals as well as terrorists, past and present. The accusation of being a Nazi associate even reached Kurt Waldheim. In post-communist Albania there has been no Nuremberg, and there still is none, even though bloodthirsty crimes and criminals have been proven and denounced across the country and on a national scale. Should no one be held responsible for them? Parliament granted innocence to hundreds of thousands of political prisoners and convicts, to those who were killed without trial or tortured inhumanely during interrogations and in communist concentration camps, and to those sentenced for saying a word about Kosovo and the national cause—and this was the first act of our democratic state. But should justice not act under democratic law against those who perpetrated this terror, these crimes and bloody genocide, even violating the laws that existed at the time? Our people, terrorized by the communist dictatorship—the convicted and the unconvicted of conscience, and their families, maimed in concentration and internment camps, etc.—have shown no sign of revenge or vigilantism. They do not seek revenge, but justice, and they have trusted this Parliament and the democratic Albanian state. But there must be no abuse or endless delay, because our persecuted people need to be calmed and freed from the extraordinarily accumulated hatred caused by 50 years of violence and crime. They need Albanian peace and harmony, stability and love for one another, cooperation and brotherhood, a national spirit and awareness, and to return normally to work and life in democracy.

51 MR. NANO SWEATED FOR THE ALBANIAN PEOPLE. Fatos Nano, THE HAND HIMSELF. LEVANTE COMPANY. HE DECIDES HIMSELF · SIGNS HIMSELF AND STAMPS HIMSELF.